From the Shadows
by PurpleChainsawCat
Summary: Harry Potter is always overshadowed by his twin, Charles, the supposed Boy-Who-Lived. Everyone seems to prefer Charles to him. Will Harry ever be recognized? Will he make friends who don't care who his brother is?
1. Chapter 1

October 31st, 1981

Lord Voldemort smirked evilly. This was it, he would finally get to kill the child who was prophesied to defeat him. There were two Potter children, twins, so he would kill both to make sure there was no possibility of his downfall. Through the window he could see the babysitter carrying the twins upstairs to the nursery to put them to bed. James and Lily Potter were at an order meeting that Peter Pettigrew had told them to attend. The meeting was not real. Pettigrew, though a coward, had been a useful spy. He had never failed to bring him valuable information about the Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort opened the metal gate and glided up the stone path to the front door.

" _Bombarda!"_ he yelled, his wand pointed at the door. The door was blown off its hinges with a loud bang. He heard a loud scream of terror and a baby crying from upstairs. When Voldemort arrived at the nursery, the babysitter stood in front on the crib, arms spread out protectively in front of the twins. _Does she really think she can protect the children from me?_ He thought. He decided to dispose of her quickly.

" _Avada Kedavra!"_ he hissed. The women fell to the ground, dead. Voldemort walked slowly to the wooden crib where the twins sat. One of them had hazel eyes and red hair and was crying loudly, which was not a surprise, but the other twin puzzled him. The small child was looking up at him with slightly glowing emerald green eyes, looking almost amused. This unnerved Voldemort more than he'd care to admit. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the child the prophecy spoke of.

"Prepare to die little Potter," he whispered, raising his wand slowly and pointing it at child's forehead. A green jet of light came out of his wand and hit the boy in the forehead. But then, to Voldemort's surprise, the beam of light was reflected and hit him instead. Then there was a loud explosion, a bright light, and Lord Voldemort was no more. All that was left of him was a robe and a wand, which were both lying on the floor.

The green-eyed child, whose name was Harry James Potter, had a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his forehead where the curse hit him. His twin, Charles Godric Potter, had acquired a scar shaped like a V on his cheek from debris. Both children passed out, unaware that this would change their lives forever.

"Come _on,_ James, we're going to be late, and I want to get home to the boys as soon as possible!"

"Calm down Lily, they are fine. We hired a perfectly capable babysitter."

James and Lily approached the stone gargoyle that was guarding the headmaster's office. "Chocolate Frogs," Lily said impatiently, and the gargoyle came to life and moved out of the way. She had a bad feeling about this meeting, but she had tried to ignore it. James was probably right, she was just being overprotective.

They walked up the stone steps to the office and knocked on the door. "Come in" said a voice from inside. Headmaster Dumbledore's office was a circular room. There were portraits of past headmasters on the walls, a large claw-footed desk with silver, magical instruments and tools on it, and a bright, flaming phoenix on a golden perch.

Dumbledore looked up from his book and smiled. "What brings you two here?" He asked, looking slightly surprised.

"What do you mean? We have a meeting." Said Lily, who was now suspicious and confused. "Where _is_ everyone?"

"I am afraid there is no meeting" he announced gravely, "who told told you this?"

"Peter," said James, " but why would he-"

"I think we have found our spy."

James wore a look of disbelief. "No, no, Wormtail can't be a spy. He's my friend, a marauder, he- he would never." He said, sounding more desperate with every word.

"Has he acted any differently lately?"

James and Lily thought back to their recent meetings with Peter. There were very few though, because his mother was seriously ill and he always went to care for her. But was that really the truth? Now that they thought about it, whenever they saw Peter he was always jumpy and seemed very uncomfortable.

Lily looked stunned and James looked sad, then angry, and the defeated. They had trusted him and considered him one of their closest friends.

"So that means…" James started.

"That this meeting was a diversion." finished Dumbledore.

"My babies!" Lily gasped, running towards the marble fireplace. She took a large handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. "203 Godric's Hollow!" She cried frantically. Green flames shot up in the fireplace and Lily stepped through them, followed by James and Dumbledore.

When they came out of the fireplace of the Potter household they were shocked. "No" James croaked, on the verge of tears.

"Charles! Harry!" She cried hysterically as she dashed up the stairs to the nursery, James and Dumbledore at her heels. It was destroyed. Walls were cracked and had fallen down and there was debris everywhere. The crib was one of the only things intact. Lily and James rushed to the crib while Dumbledore inspected the robes and the wand on the ground with fascination.

"They're alive!" James shouted joyfully while Lily started to cry in relief. "But how?"

"Somehow, one of the twins did something to Voldemort. The prophecy is being fulfilled." said Dumbledore.

"Well, what do you think happened? Is Voldemort dead?" James asked

"And what do you mean by 'The prophecy is being fulfilled'?" added Lily.

Dumbledore sighed. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. About a year ago I was interviewing candidates for the job of Divination Professor at Hogwarts. One of them, a woman named Sybill Trelawney, seemed to be a complete fraud, but as I was finishing the interview she told a real prophecy. It said:

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…

born to those who have thrice defied him,

born as the seventh month dies…

and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,

but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…

and either must die at the hand of the other,

for neither can live while the other survives…

but you must be careful,

for many things will keep him from his goal…

the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord

will be born as the seventh month dies…'

This means that one of the twins has been marked as his equal." he said.

"Which one was it though?" asked Lily.

Dumbledore started to inspect the children. He checked their magical cores and Charles' was stronger than Harry's, in fact, Harry's was almost nonexistent, but what Dumbledore didn't know was that his core was week from the magic he used to block the killing curse. The fact that Charles' core was stronger and he had a scar in the shape of a V, which stood for Voldemort, persuaded the headmaster that Charles defeated Voldemort.

"It was Charles" he announced.

"How are you sure it wasn't Harry?" asked Lily, confused

"Well, Harry has a very weak magical core and does not have enough power the do something like block the killing curse. He does not currently have enough magic to go to Hogwarts and is probably a squib." Dumbledore explained. James and Lily gasped. A squib is someone with magical parents, but without magic. It would be a scandal for a line as prestigious as the Potter line to produce a one. "Also," continued Dumbledore, "Charles has a scar on his cheek, which is where the killing curse probably hit him."

"So did he do it? Is Voldemort really dead?" asked Lily.

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid not. I think he is only temporarily gone. He will come back at some point, and when he does, we must be ready. When Charles gets older I will give him special training, but for now, just be as supporting of him as you can be. He will have a lot of pressure on him. Everyone will know his name. He will be known as Charles Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"I am so proud of him." said James, smiling brightly. "My own son, the defeater of Voldemort!"

James and Lily picked Charles up out of the crib. "Well, I best be off." said Dumbledore. "I have much to do. We will have to tell the press what has happened."

"Of course," Lily said happily, "we will see you tomorrow"

For the rest of the night, Lily and James attended to Charles and played with him, making sure he knew his parents were proud of him. No one remembered Harry until the next morning. Harry's life had changed that night, and not for the better.


	2. Chapter 2

10 Years Later

Harry Potter opened his eyes to face reality, and as soon as he did he wanted to go back to sleep. It was his eleventh birthday. Most children would be excited for such an occasion, but not Harry. It was also his twin Charles' birthday and everyone forgot about Harry. His parents would always throw Charles a large birthday party and shower him in presents, while Harry sat in a corner or at a table, ignored.

He slowly got out of bed and got dressed. When he was done, he went downstairs for breakfast. His parents and brother were already at the table. Harry sat down just in time to grab the last piece of bacon.

"Hey, that was mine!" whined Charles.

"Give it to your brother, it's his birthday." said Lily.

' _It's my birthday to'_ thought Harry ' _but I guess they wouldn't remember.'_

"Boy, you better be on your best behavior at Charles' party." James said, "You better not embarrass this family."

Harry sighed, "Yes sir." He was not looking forward to the party. There were always people from all over Britain there, many of them huge fans of Charles. It would be a long day.

The ballroom of Potter Manor was filled with witches and wizards. There was a huge mound of presents in the corner and large table filled with food with a large chocolate cake in the center. Harry sat in the corner, watching everyone around him. No one talked to him or acknowledged him, but maybe that was a good thing. His parents hated it when someone paid attention to him over Charles and they gave unpleasant punishments. Harry heard footsteps and looked to see who was approaching him. It was Sirius Black, or Uncle Padfoot, as he liked to be called, and Remus Lupin, or Uncle Moony.

"Hey kid." said Sirius, smiling, while handing him a package, "Where are your parents and brother?" Harry pointed to the other side of the room, where they were talking to the Minister of Magic. "Thanks, happy birthday." he said as he walked away. Harry sighed. Sirius payed more attention to him than his parents did, but he still obviously prefered to be around Charles.

Harry turned his attention to Remus. "Hey, Uncle Moony." Harry said, trying to give a believable smile.

"What's wrong Harry?" asked Remus. Harry knew Remus had some idea of why he was upset. Remus knew that Harry was neglected to some extent, but he never did anything about it. Harry didn't really blame him though. No one else has ever made an attempt to help him with it.

Harry's birthday was the one of the few times he felt really upset about how his parents treated him. It wasn't on purpose, it was just harder on his birthday. Usually he wasn't to upset about it. He told himself many times that he doesn't _need_ his parents, and is fine without him, and he was, but sometimes he wondered how things would be if Charles was never declared The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Harry said, hoping his uncle would let it go.

Remus smiled and handed Harry a small package wrapped in shiny green paper. "Happy Birthday, Harry. It's not much but I hope you like it."

Harry took the present and opened it carefully. Inside was a small wooden box with a golden latch. "What is it?" Harry asked.

"Well, when you open the box, the charm inside it will activate until you shut it. The charm will make the ceiling of whatever room you're in replicate the sky. You'll like it at night, I know how much you like the stars." And it was true. The night sky always fascinated Harry. He would sometimes just look at the stars for hours.

"Thank you, Uncle Moony." Harry said gratefully. He couldn't wait to try it out in his room.

"Your welcome Harry, I'm glad you like it." Remus said cheerfully.

"Hey Moony! Come say Happy Birthday to Charles!" James yelled from across the room. Remus gave Harry an apologetic look as he was dragged away by Charles.

Harry took his two presents and went to his room. That party was getting really loud and he needed to step away for a little bit.

Harry's room was large and messy. There was a claw-footed, mahogany desk in the corner with ink, quills, books, and parchment all over it. In the middle of the room was a large, four poster bed. Harry sat down and opened the gift Sirius gave him. Inside was a rare book on alchemy. He smiled. Sirius obviously knew him well.

When Harry and Charles were eight, Dumbledore insisted that he should train Charles so he is prepared to fight Voldemort. Harry asked to be trained to, but his parents said no, saying he was just a squib and would never be as good or as powerful as his brother. Harry, who was upset and angered by that statement, vowed to himself that he would one day prove to them that he is as good as Charles. Ever since Harry has spent a lot of time in the Potter library, reading and practicing magic. He could now do a lot of wandless magic and when he got the chance, he could steal Charles' practice wand and try a few more complicated spells. Harry was very smart and could understand things that most kids his age can't .

Harry opened the box with the sky charm inside. The ceiling now looked like the clear night sky and Harry could see constellations and planets clearly. He put his new book on his shelf and went back to the ballroom, where the party was. More people seemed to be there than there were when he left earlier. He saw his his parents and brother talking to a large family with red hair and freckles that Harry identified as the Weasleys. Charles was talking to Ron Weasley, who was the youngest boy and the first and only kid their age Harry and Charles have ever met. Ron only really wanted to be around Charles and joined him in antagonizing Harry.

Harry slowly walked towards his family. He was starving and they were right by the food table. As he walked past, Ron made an attempt to trip him, but missed, tripping an old woman on accident. The woman fell into Charles, who then fell on top of the cake.

"Charles! Are you okay? What happened?" screeched Lily as she helped Charles up.

"It was Harry," Charles yelled, "he pushed me!"

James and Lily glared venomously at Harry. They were obviously very angry and their expressions promised a punishment. Suddenly, Harry was not looking forward to the end of the party.

"How could you be so rude to your brother!" snarled James.

"It wasn't my fault! Ron tripped someone and she fell on Charles!" Harry tried to explain.

"Don't you DARE blame your brothers best friend, it was your fault!" screamed Lily.

"And you will pay for it." James added, stepping towards Harry.

Harry braced himself for the pain that would surely come. He was not physically abused too often, just when they were really angry. They mainly just neglected and insulted him.

James kicked him swiftly in the ribs a few times and threw him to the ground. With a few more kicks and punches, James stopped. " Don't you ever do anything like that again, you disgraceful squib!" James said harshly, walking away with Lily and Charles.

Harry picked himself up off the floor and limped to his room. He seemed to have a few broken ribs, cuts and bruises on his face, and broken leg. When he got to his room, looked through a book of healing spells and found some he could do without a wand. It took a little while, but he managed to heal all of his injuries. He then crawled into bed. _'It's been a long day'_ thought Harry as he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
